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THEMATIC
ROUTES
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RT-
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ROUTE OF SANT FELIU
Description
of the township
Text extracted from the Gran Geografia Comarcal de Catalunya,
volume 6
Situation
and definition
The township of Sant Feliu de Codines (15,18 km2) spread over the mountain
area that connects the Cingles de Bertí (or Raconada del Fai),
the hill of Montbui and the mountain of Sant Sadurní de Gallifa.
Inside this triangle of non-equal elevations, the maximum height is of
858 m in the Serrat de l'Escaiola, in the north-west side of the township,
near the Collet de les Termes (where it coincides with Sant Quirze Safaja,
Castellterçol and Gallifa); and the minimum one is of 312 m in
the lowest point of the torrent of El Villar, that borders with Bigues.
In this area, there are several small crests, valleys and torrents, like
the Serrat dle Berenguer (788 and 819 m), the Serrat de la Galaieta (726
m), the Turó de Solanes (708 m), the Turó del Pigròs
(702 m), the Fitor (660 m) or Les Sabrugues (603 m), among which there
are the torrents of La Beliarda, Can Bosc, Del Tura, De l'Escletxa, del
Berenguer and la Botera (that form the torrent of Vallbona, that collects
the water of the eastern side of the township). The torrent of Vallbona,
together with the torrent of El Villar, flows into the torrent of Tenes.
 |
Sant Feliu de Codines is a linking place between the Vallès Occidental and the Moianès. This bordering nature can be appreciated in its geology (in the north and north-eastern side of the township there can be found layers that come from the inferior and mid eocene period; and, in the south-western side, there can be found granite and coarse areas), as well as in the vegetation and in the climate. This variety can be easily seen while going by any of the two roads that cross the township: the one that goes from Calders to Moià, officially called C-1413 from Molins de Rei to Centelles, and the BP-1241, from Sant Llorenç Savall to Llinars. The first road junctions at the end of the Pla de la Botera, where begins the B-134 that, by the Coll de Poses (in the border of the township), goes to Castellterçol and Moià. |
Especially
in this road, from its 22nd km on, the change in the landscape is shocking:
the vineyard disappears and the pinewoods and holmwoods are deeper, giving
a really different look to the area.
Inside the township,
there is another road, touristic and highly recommended for those who
want to visit the whole township. This is the BV-1485 that goes from Sant
Feliu to Sant Miquel del Fai, crossing the wonderful balcony of the Parc
Usart. From here on, the road goes on half hanging in the Cinglera del
Perer, especially from the Pla de Pregona, that is, more or less, the
border of the township. This route offers wonderful views over the Vallès
area and the Riells valley.
 View of the village by the Usart park (photograph by J.M. Jerez) |
Resources
Sant Feliu has about 550 hectares of pinewoods. It is believed that,
in the 18th and 19th century, this village was also called Sant Feliu
del Pinyó (Sant Feliu "of the pine nuts") because of
the big amount of pine nuts collected here. There are, also, about 450
hectares of pasture-lands and waste lands.
The crops have
highly transformed during the years: the vineyard is disappearing (from
140 hectares ten years ago to about 45). Other chief crops are: olive
trees, fruit trees (mainly hazelnut trees and cherry trees), usually well
cared and really productive.
The most traditional
crop is cereal, with about 150 hectares, and, after it, pod vegetables
and potatoes. There have never been a lot of farms (about twelve) because
of its broken land. But most of the houses of the village had cultivation
fields for their own consumption. Nowadays, most of those fields have
been abandoned because they are too small for people to use mechanical
media to work them.
As a complement
of agriculture, there are some cattle farms, mainly of cows, pigs and
chickens, near the farms and around the village.
Demography
Sant Feliu has had a constant growing, although all the normal variations
in general depopulation times. In ciphers, this evolution has gone as
follows: in 1380 there were 35 families; in 1413, 20 families; in 1553,
41 families; in 1719, 618 inhabitants; in 1787, 1746 inhabitants; in 1860,
2926 inhabitants; in 1900, 2450 inhabitants; in 1970, 3030 inhabitants;
and, in 1980, 3316 inhabitants. From the beginning of the 20th century,
Sant Feliu has become a place where people from Barcelona use to spend
their summer holidays. For this reason, there are a lot of chalets and
apartments around the village, that seems bigger of what it is. In the
summer time, Sant Feliu has about 15000 inhabitants.
The big increase
in population of the 17th and 18th centuries were because of the introduction
of the "parairia", the wool industry. This system was first
documented in 1556. In 1604, the first corporation related with the wool
industry was created. At the beginning of the 19th century, the old industry
began to weaken. In 1804, there were just 13 weavers. But, because of
the industrialization, there was another big increase from 1871, when
Josep Umbert i Ventura created the first textile industry, with 52 looms.
From this on, other families of the region created their own textile industries,
like Comas, Muñoz, Roca Umbert, Josep Umbert Rosas or the smaller
ones (Vilanova, Catot, Bandés, Cirera or Falqués). A lot
of farms had their own looms. In the most important time, there were about
800 people working in textile. But until 1980, the textile industry has
decreased severely. The big factories are closed, and there are only four
small factories and two industries dedicated to dressmaking, with 82 workers.
In 1972, a big discplayer industry opened, but it closed in 1978. It happened
the same with an perfume industry, that moved to Sant Martí Sarroca.
Industry
Nowadays, Sant Feliu has about 48 industries among which, those dedicated
to textile and dressmaking, metallurgy (the most important one is INVASSA
or Tallers Vallcorba, that produces milk pots and has 35 workers), construction,
and other minor industries. The rest of the population lives from agriculture
and/or tourism.
 Next to an industry, there is a social center (photograph by J.M. Jerez) |
History
The first historical reference of the village of Sant Feliu comes from
its parish church, that was built between 986 and 1002.
Before the 11th
century, and from the prehistory, the township was inhabited by the Iberian
people in the Puig Alt del Viver, in the border of the township. There
have been found several archaelogical evidences in the Balma del Ca, the
Abric Vernet, the Serrat de la Galaieta, etc. All of those evidences are
now exposed in the Archaelogical Museum of the township.
From 1059, Sant
Feliu de Codines is a parish of the religious jurisdiction of Montbui
and, later on, of the barony of Montbui.
The demographic
increase of the parish in the 17th century made that the inhabitants of
Sant Feliu quarrelled with the other parishes of the barony of Montbui
from 1604. In 1694, the parish of Sant Feliu achieved an autonomic town
regime and a different treatment. Finally, in 1793 they declared themselves
independent. In 1799, the king gave them the title of "village"
and the possibility to have a separate mayor. By the beginning of 1800,
with the first autonomous town council, the scission of Sant Feliu from
the barony of Montbui was confirmed.
Sant Feliu de
Codines was placed in a break of the crest that leads to the Vallès
in the east and the torrent of El Tura and the torrent of L'Escletxa.
The first nucleus is La Sagrera, in the west side of the church, with
a peculiar and old look: narrow and small streets and La Sagrera square,
with important houses from the 16th and 17th century. It is said that
in Can Tura there once was a Carthusian monastery. Its monks owned several
lands in the township.
In the 17th
century, a second nucleus was built in La Revenderia (or La Venderia),
in front of the church, on the opposite side of the torrent of Tura. The
most important building of this nucleus is Casa Roca or Can Batllori,
where, in the 18th century, a clock tower was built (this tower still
exists). Also in the 18th century, the Vic street was built where there
was the old path from Vic to Caldes de Montbui. From that moment, other
neighbourhoods began to be built, like Les Creus Altes, and Les Creus
Baixes, as well as other main streets, like L'Hospital, Barcelona and
El Joncar. These new streets left a village separated by the two torrents.
The housing
of the area of La Quintana, as well as the opening of the road from Caldes
to Centelles and other complementary streets, unified the separated nucleus.
It also helped the building of summer houses and transformed the village.
Nowadays, the village has been enlarged with new residential neighbourhoods:
Sant Domingo, Les Escoles, L'Era Nova... Other neighbourhoods have been
enlarged.
Another important
public work of the village is the housing of Els Saulons d'En Déu,
in the Montbui castle, as well as the gardens of Can Xifreda.
 View of the old part of the village |
Important
places
The parish church of Sant Feliu de Codines is placed in the eastern
side of La Sagrera neighbourhood, at the end of a small hill. It is a
wide building, full of harmony, that was re-made between 1940 and 1948,
using part of an old church built between 1698 and 1754 that was blow
up in 1939 during the Civil War. According to some pre-Romanesque capitals
preserved in the rectorship, it is thought that there was a pre-Romanesque
church there. It is also thought that another church was consecrated about
1193, but there are some doubts about it. The bell tower is modern (1954)
and was built on a base built in the 18th century. The rectorship has
old entrance halls and windows. It has been recuperated, not very well
indeed, a few years ago.
Another interesting
building is the hospital, over the fountain and the gardens of Les Albes.
It was built by the rector Agustín Santacruz in 1744. It is a rectangular
building, serious and strong, with a central courtyard. From 1859, it
is managed by the Dominican nuns of L'Anunciata. Under the hospital, there
are some schools, built in 1940, and a clinic managed by the parish. There
are other ancient houses, built in the 16th century, like Can Valls or
Can Boter.
It is also important
to see the Casa Rodó, also known as Can Déu Ric, that has
a chapel dedicated to Saint Francis built in 1749. The house was absolutely
renewed in the 20th century. The village is surrounded by Modern Style
buildings.
The only ancient
farmhouses of Sant Feliu are Can Déu del Veïnat, Can Bosc
de Rufets, Lloberes el Perer de Planes, El Flequer, El Villar and L'Ullar.
It also had the mills of Lloberes and L'Ullar. Historically speaking,
the farmhouses of Solanes and El Fonoll were also considered to belong
to Sant Feliu, but now they belong to the township of Caldes de Montbui.
The farmhouse
of El Villar is one of the most important farms of the village, historically
speaking. It has an old rounded medieval tower of the 12th century, and
a big house with Gothic windows. The farm is in a hollow, a place full
of water near Bigues. This farm exists since 1007. Several years laters,
the Villar family mixed with Montagut. The chapel of Saint Mary, placed
in front of the house and in the opposite side of the torrent, was built
in the 12th century and renewed by Vicenç de Montagut i Villar
in 1799. Part of the chapel is Romanesque. There, people venerate the
Mare de Déu de la Llet, an image made in the 18th century.
The farm of
El Perer de Planes was built in the 12th century and has ancient windows
and a wonderful archive. Next to it, there is the farm of El Flequer,
that belongs to the marquisate of Dou. They re-built the chapel of Sant
Climent del Flequer in 1776, that is inside their lands, next to an ancient
chapel of the 15th century. Other important farms because of its architecture
are Llobera and Can Déu del Veïnat.
The Modern Style
house of Mas Bosc or Can Bosc de Rufets was bought in 1920 by the Trinxet
family, who charge its re-building to the architect Joan Rubió
i Bellver, who did it between 1920 and 1924. This is a big stone house,
full of Modern Style details. Next to it, in 1920, a big chicken farm
called Fi-Vallès, nowadays abandoned.
Famous people who were born in Sant Feliu
Josep Umbert i Ventura (1844-1917) was the one who began the industrial
development of Sant Feliu. He created important industries in Granollers,
Sants and Monistrol de Montserrat.
Nicolau Usart i Furriol who, by the beginning of the 20th century, built
the Usart park, left to the village. He also helped to develop the Societat
Coral La Poncella, created in 1898.
The impression of Gaudí in
Sant Feliu de Codines
 |
When the bubonic plague and the influenza killed thousands of inhabitants of the city of Barcelona, Gaudí looked for a better and healthier clime and moved to Ca l'Ullar. This preventive cure gave a lot of profit to the village, that received his mark with several creations, among which the most important one was the flag of L'Orfeó Feliuà. Gaudí
spent several long seasons in Francesc Ullar's house and, according
to César Martinell, was Ullar himself who asked him to design
this flag, that nowadays is exposed in the Archaelogical Museum
of Can Xifeda. This is the only flag designed by Gaudí. |
Webs related with Sant Feliu de Codines
Archaelogical Museum
of Can Xifreda
http://www.xifreda.org
Grup del Correfoc
del Follet i del Fantasma
http://correfoc-sfc.tripod.com/ind1.htm
Modernism Style Route
/ Gaudí in Sant Feliu de Codines
http://www.rutamodernisme.com/gaudi/c/galeria5f.html
Project of book about
Sant Feliu
http://www.web-dart.net/santfeliu/
Cim d'Àligues,
centre specialized in the study, showing and breeding of birds of prey
http://www.cimaligues.net/
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